Severe disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to immunisation campaigns against measles and polio are putting millions of children at risk, the UN is warning.

Last Friday, it revealed that 91 routine vaccination programs had been stopped in 53 countries.

“They’re coming back, but they haven’t come back fully or as quickly as we were hoping they will,” said Professor Katherine O’Brien, the WHO’s director of immunisation, vaccines and biologicals.

“If we don’t act quickly soon for both polio, measles, yellow fever, cholera, typhoid, we will see significant outbreaks in 2021 or 2022.”